Do You Know Where Your Children Are? With This GPS Device, You Will

posted by RJ Johnson - @rickerthewriter -
Dec 5, 2018

Parents have a new option in the battle between teenage hormones and parental responsibilities - GPS ankle bracelets.

While there are dozens of apps available for parents to monitor where their teens are at any given moment, a Clearwater, Florida company now offers GPS ankle bracelet monitoring for parents that let them know exactly where they are at all times - no matter what.

The service will cost parents between $8 and $10 a day, or about $300 a month, depending on which model of ankle monitor they go with.

Frank Kopcyynski, the owner of Tampa Bay Monitoring, told Fox 13 News that got the idea for the service after a mother called him asking for advice after her daughter kept running away.

“I average a half-a-dozen a week all over the country because they see this ad, and they’re desperate,” said Kopczynski.

A sales video for the company makes the pitch as a solution for parents with children "engaging in out-of-control behaviors," and they offer a variety of "GPS options for parents who are particularly concerned that their teen may be sneaking out of the house at night, skipping school, or at risk of running away."

"We offer a variety of options for parents whether they are simply looking out for their teens overall safety or concerned for the teen that may be sneaking out of the house at night or at risk of running away,” thesales video says. "Since a court order is not required, parents are increasingly turning to GPS monitoring to deter their children’s risky behavior."

The company boasts that the ankle bracelets can monitor exactly where a teen goes any time of the day, or night. Parents who shell out for an advanced model can up their Big Brother game by having the ability to call their kid, anywhere they might be. The system is two-ways, which means the staff at Tampa Bay Monitoring can listen in anytime they wish.

Kids who think they can hack the device won't have much luck, Kopczynski says. The bracelet is near-impossible to cut off and has the option of sounding an ear-piercing alarm.

"Even if they try to saw on this rubber, we know immediately that they are tampering with the device," said Kopczynski.